Thursday, March 19, 2009

There's Always a Rainbow



I was standing in the bathtub yesterday in front of wide open windows. I was fully dressed, thank you very much, washing my windows. I had taken the blinds down and scrubbed them clean on my back patio. Then I lifted out the screens and power washed them on the grass. They were all drying in the sun while I was upstairs working on phase two of my Clean the Bathroom Windows campaign. It is a tremendous project I only undertake twice a year. You see, in 1991 when our home was built, the latest trend in widows was triple pane. This would suggest to me one window with three panes of glass, gas between the panes and smooth vinyl surrounds. OH! That would be the windows of today...mine are not. I have one outer window with double panes and two sliders on the inside tracks meant to be the third panes. Those two plus the outer slider I lift out of their tracks, stand them in the tub, and scrub them down on both sides. Then I perch in the window sill and reach out with my trusty squeegee to clean the outside of the fixed glass. It's perilous but I am careful. It's on the second floor and I don't do extension ladders! SO...that's four separate window sections, two sides each, so eight total sides to clean. It takes a long time because of the accumulated dust and grime from two season's worth of weather on the outsides. Then I start it all over again because it is a corner window with a twin sister! So that's 16 sides of window glass to clean. Swell. Then comes the mucking out of dirt and bugs from the tracks that are an inch deep. Double swell. I started at 10:30 with the blinds and was done with the upstairs by 1:45.

When I was finished I noticed I had set several of my cleaners in the window sill that faces south. The afternoon sun was shining through the bottles and the colors were so pretty! I put a few more colors with them and made a rainbow of caustic chemical loveliness! There's always something to make you smile if you look hard enough. Plus...There's no dust in my windows for about one day, then it starts all over again. I smiled at my rainbow and told the blinds, screens, and 16 sides of glass that I'd see them again in the fall.

7 comments:

Nick said...

You know Marianne, I could remove those storm windows for you. It would be much easier to clean and these days storm windows are pointless anyways.....plus this could be my first spring project....oh the possibilities!

Marianne said...

No more deconstructioin for awhile thanks!

Anonymous said...

Geez, what an ordeal! Can't you call someone to do that for you, it would be soooo worth it! However, having said that...there is nothing like the feeling that comes from completing a difficult task and especially one where you can "SEE" the results so clearly. So enjoy the wonderful feeling of accomplishment that you so richly deserve!!

Gena said...

I am so glad my husband likes doing windows! I sighed deeply and became weary just reading about your ordeal. Thanks for watching out for Michael.

ps. in MY time at the Y your ice cream choice was supposed to denote the kind of kiss you received... I always cringed when a roommate bought French Vanilla.

Busy Bee Lauren said...

I would love to have big windows by a tub like that...sigh.

URFAVE 5+A Few said...

WOW what an undertaking there! Whoo whee! I'm exhausted just reading about all of that. I will never complain about cleaning my windows again after reading what you go through! I'm glad that you finished that safely! That's a bit scary.

Now about that comment of Gina's for the record I just want to say that I cringed a bit also when she said the whole French Vanilla thing. And Brilynn just told me yesterday how much she would like to go to BYU hmmm.......I hope that whole ice cream denoting the kind of kiss is gone by then!

Love ya, JoLynn

Edwin & Tamara said...

Would love those big windows, I would be like you they would only get a good cleaning once or twice a year, or I would try and get edwin to do it LOL, Loved the cleaning rainbow :)
Have a wonderful day ;)